Tall ship to arrive in Whitehaven earlier than expected

The Santa Maria will arrive in Whitehaven on July 29, not July 31 as was previously advertised. 

Gerard Richardson, part of the events team organising the visit, said: "I’ll deal with the arrival date first. The mistake is mine, she's arriving on July 29, and I’ll make sure all future adverts reflect that.

He said: "The main news is that the Santa Maria is with us from July 29 to August 10, and I can only hope we get similar support to last year's visit of the Galleon.

"There's nothing new on the Santa Maria visit yet, but we will hopefully have something that will enhance the visit to announce next week."

Mr Richardson spoke about the work of the town council’s events group, which is behind this year’s busy calendar.

He said: "To be honest, I was skeptical when Marlene, the Town Council clerk, asked me to come out of volunteer retirement and join the town council events group, but it's probably become one of the most successful event groups the town has ever had.

"We organise most of the events ourselves and support others such as the Leyland Bus event and the Motorcycle exhibition."

The group is running eight events this year and supporting another two.

Among the highlights is the Motorcycle Exhibition, which Mr Richardson is especially looking forward to.

He said: "The other event I'm really looking forward to is the Motorcycle Exhibition, which is something completely different for us. I'm hoping there will be something there to tempt my inner child."

The team is also delivering a two-day science exhibition.

Mr Richardson said: "It’s a chance to look into the future, and who isn't curious about that.

"It’s become a huge event, and we do our best to spread the techno love by taking the robotic dogs into several shops and locations in the town."